Shorts and News

Drew Duncan Named Assistant General Manager for NAJ

Drew Duncan, Ashville, Ohio, has been named Assistant General Manager for National All-Jersey Inc. (NAJ), effective January 27, 2017.

Duncan will provide support for development and marketing of NAJ programs and services, economic analysis, customer service, and maintenance of membership and other company resources.

â€œDrew brings to NAJ a broad background and wealth of experience in the dairy industry,â€ said Erick Metzger, NAJ General Manager. â€œHis knowledge of herd management, milk production and dairy product processing, plus business and personnel management experience, will be valuable assets to our membership.â€

Involved in daily operations of the diversified family-owned Duncan Farms, Warsaw, Ohio, Drew provided care for the 200-head registered Holstein and Ayrshire herd that has earned state and national production awards and enjoyed success at shows and sales. He studied food business management with a minor in agricultural business at The Ohio State University, receiving his B.S. degree in 2014.

Duncan was hired as production manager for Velvet Ice Cream, Utica, Ohio, in 2014. In addition to overseeing daily duties of the production team, he delivered GMP and SOP training, worked with the plant manager in personnel management, and served as the companyâ€™s safety coordinator. For the past year, he has worked as SQF (Safe Quality Food) Practitioner, enforcing the plantâ€™s HACCP plan, conducting daily lab tests of finished product, and working with regulatory agencies. He is a Class 1 Water Operator and HACCP Certified.

Drew and his wife, Elizabeth, were married in October. She holds an MBA degree from Ohio Dominican University and is employed by Nationwide Insurance.

National All-Jersey was formed in 1957 by the American Jersey Cattle Association, the oldest dairy breed registry organization in the United States. Its mission is to increase the value of and demand for Jersey milk and to promote equity in milk pricing. National All-Jersey Inc. is the only organization that represents milk marketing concerns for owners of a single dairy breed. For more information on the associationâ€™s complete line of services for dairy business owners, visit the website at NAJ.USJersey.com.

USJersey Staff Adds New Staff

The American Jersey Cattle Association announces the hiring of Danielle Schrock, Groveport, Ohio, as Staff Accountant and Hayley Kurtz, Hilliard, Ohio, as Customer Service Specialist for the Herd Services, Research and Genetic Programs, and Development departments.

â€œDanielle and Hayley each bring a strong skill set and proven track record for customer service to their new responsibilities,â€ said Neal Smith, AJCA Executive Secretary and CEO. â€œWe are pleased to have employed such well-qualified individuals to help us meet the demands of our growing business.â€

A 2010 graduate of Michigan State University with a B.S. degree in agricultural business management, Danielle Schrock has worked in sales and accounting support, human resource management and customer service at the Springfield, Mich., office of Fastenal Co. and the corporate headquarters of D & G Equipment, Inc. in Williamston, Mich. She and her husband, David, who is pursuing doctoral studies at The Ohio State University, have two children.

Haley Kurtz graduated last May from The Ohio State University with a B.S. degree in animal science with a biosciences specialization. While attending Ohio State, she worked with the Jersey herd at Waterman Dairy Farm and also as a veterinary assistant for a Columbus-area animal hospital. Haley was also an active member of the Buckeye Dairy Club. Since graduation, she has worked as a lab animal technician at Battelle Memorial Institute.

The American Jersey Cattle Association, organized in 1868, compiles and maintains animal identification and performance data on Jersey cattle and provides services that support genetic improvement and greater profitability through increasing the value of and demand for Registered Jerseyâ„¢ cattle and genetics, and Jersey milk and milk products. For more information on the associationâ€™s complete line of services for dairy business owners, visit the website at www.USJersey.com or connect at Facebook.com/USJersey.

March 1 is Deadline for Production Contest Entries

Entries are due no later than March 1 for the Living Lifetime Production Contest and the National Jersey Youth Production Contest.

To be eligible for the Living Lifetime Production Contest, cows must be alive as of December 31, 2016, with either minimum production credits on DHIR test of 200,000 lbs. milk, 9,500 lbs. fat, and 7,500 lbs. protein.

To enter the contest, submit a DHI cow page with lifetime production credits for each animal nominated to Erick Metzger, Herd Services Manager at the AJCA office, 6486 E. Main St., Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068-2362. Entries may also be faxed to his attention at 614/861-8040.

Entries are also due March 1 for the National Jersey Youth Production Contest. Contestants between the ages of 9 and 19 on January 1, 2016, are eligible if they are the recorded owner of the cow on or before her freshening date. Registered Jerseys completting DHIR or DHIA records of 305-days or less between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2016, may be entered.

Call the Development Department for entry forms at 614/322-4456. The form is also available from the USJersey website.

Call to the Annual Meeting (Gettysburg, Pa.)

To the Members of the American Jersey Cattle Association
Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the constitution, the 149th annual meeting of the members of the American Jersey Cattle Association will be held at the Wyndham Gettysburg Hotel, Gettysburg, Pa., on Saturday, June 24, 2017. The annual reports of the officers will be received, the election of the President and four Directors will be announced, and all other business properly coming before the meeting will be transacted.

Voting for President and Directors is by ballot only. Proxies are for use in voting on any other business that may come before the meeting, in the event members are not present at the time such votes are taken.

The notice of the annual meeting, the official ballot, and the official proxy will be mailed to all members eligible to vote not less than 30 days before the meeting date.

All active members shown on the membership books of the Association on the date 50 days (May 4, 2017) prior to the annual meeting are those eligible to vote.
An active member is an owner of one or more Registered Jersey cows and who has registered or had transferred to his or her ownership a Jersey animal within two (2) years.
An active member who does not register or have transferred to his or her ownership a Jersey animal for a period of two (2) years shall automatically become an inactive member. An inactive member shall again become an active member automatically upon registering or having transferred to his or her ownership a Jersey animal. Inactive members have until May 4, 2017, to again become active members and eligible to vote in the 2017 elections.

Nominating Procedure
A written petition signed by 30 or more active members of the American Jersey Cattle Association will nominate a person for president, provided the petition is filed with the Executive Secretary of the Association not less than 65 days prior to the annual meeting.

Nominations for Director require the signatures of 20 active members who live in the district. These must also be filed with the Executive Secretary 65 days prior to the meeting. All nominations must be filed by April 20, 2017.

A President will be elected for a one-year term. Four Directors with three-year terms are to be elected. The President and Directors may succeed themselves, with a Director not being elected for more than two regular, successive terms.
The Directors whose terms expire at the 2017 Annual Meeting are: Alan Chittenden, Schodack Landing, N.Y., Second District; W. Phil Gordon, Syracuse, Ind., Sixth District; Edward Kirchdoerfer, Cape Girardeau, Mo., Eighth District; and Kelly Moss, Litchfield Park, Ariz., Eleventh District.
Directors Chittenden, Kirchdoerfer and Moss are eligible to succeed themselves. Director Gordon is completing his second three-year term and is not eligible to succeed himself.
Current President Chris Sorensonâ€™s one-year term expires at the next Annual Meeting and he is eligible to seek re-election.

To the Members of
National All-Jersey Inc.
Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the constitution, the 58th annual meeting of the voting members of National All-Jersey Inc. will be held at the Wyndham Gettysburg Hotel, Gettysburg, Pa., on Friday, June 23, 2017, when the annual reports of the officers will be received, the election of two Directors and the appointment of one Director will be announced and all other business properly coming before the meeting will be transacted. Voting for Director is by ballot only. Proxies are for use in voting on any other business that may come before the meeting, in the event members are not present at the time such votes are taken. Voting members are producer members, those who pay fees as established by the Board of Directors.

The notice of the annual meeting, the official ballot, and the official proxy will be mailed to all members eligible to vote not less than 30 days before the meeting date.

One Director, with a four-year term, will be appointed. The appointed Director whose term expires is Calvin Graber, Parker, S.D., District 7.
Two Directors, with four-year terms, will be elected. The elected Directors whose terms expire are Mike Wickstrom, Hilmar, Calif., District 2, and John Kokoski, Hadley, Mass., District 3. Both are eligible to succeed themselves.
Nominations for District Directors can be made by written petition signed by 10 or more voting members living in the district. The petition must be filed with the Executive Secretary at least 60 days (April 24, 2017) prior to the annual meeting.